Means for controlling the operation of locks of elevator-hatchway doors



No. 751,799. PATENTED FEB. 9, 1904. A. MAGNUSON & T. ESKILSSON.

MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE OPERATION OF LOOKS OP ELEVATOR HATGHWAY DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12, 1903.

NO MODEL.

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UNITED STATES Patented February 9, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

AXEL MAGNUSON, OF NEW YORK, AND THEODOR ESKILSSON, OF LONG ISLAND CITY,NEW YORK.

MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE OPERATION OF LOCKS OF ELEVATOR-HATCHWAY DOORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 751,799, dated February9, 1904. Application filed November 12, 1903, Serial No. 180,319. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, AXEL MAeNUsoN, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of New York, borough of Manhattan, county of New York, andTHEODOR ESKILSSON, a subject of the King of Sweden and Norway, and aresident of Long Island City, county of Queens, and State of New York,have made a new and useful Invention in Means for Controlling theOperation of the Locks of Elevator-Hatchway Doors, of which thefollowing is a specification. 1

Our invention relates particularly to novel means for effectuallylocking such doors when closed and maintaining them so locked at alltimes, whether the car be in motion or at rest, and for unlocking themonly when the car is in proper position to receive or dischargepassengers at any landing or floor.

It also contemplates the application of the brake at the same time,whereby the car is ilOlilllflble to move by reason of any change of oacFor a full and clear understanding of our invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to construct and use the same, reference ishad to the accompanying drawings and to the following specificationdescriptive thereof, the essential points of novelty being particularlypointed out in the claims which follow.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a sectional view of an elevator ofwell-known construction, the car being connected by cables running overand under pulleys to a counterweight and drum driven by an electricmotor provided with brake mechanism, also electrically controlled, andour invention being applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a detail verticalsectional view taken through Fig. l and illustrating our novellock-controlling device as applied to elevator-hatchway doors. Fig. 3 isan enlarged detail sectional view of the brake-controlling solenoid andits inclosing casing, showing also a part of our invention as combinedtherewith; and Fig. 4 is-a part sectional, part side elevational, viewof the brake-controlling mechism, illustrating a band-brake and theapplication thereof to the brake-pulley in a wellknown manner, thedash-pot and electrical connections embodying a part of our inventionbeing shown at the top of this figure of the drawings.

In a prior United States Patent granted to us on the 29th day ofSeptember, 1903, numbered 740,15 I, we have described, shown, andclaimed novel means for operating and controlling the locks ofelevator-hatchway doors in which a movable cam is carried by the car andis brought into and put out of operation as desired by the operator inthe car.

Our present invention is designed to simplify the operation of thelocking and unlocking device and does away with the cam re ferred to inthe aforesaid patent, so that we are enabled to perform the same andeven more perfect results with less apparatus and with more certainty ofoperation, with the additional very desirable feature of applying thebrake at all times when a car is standing opposite a hatchway-door andthe source of power disconnected, afeature of importance, for that withcounterbalanced elevators like that shown in the drawings when thecounterbalance is greater in weight than the car the latter may moveafter a passenger has left the same or, vice versa, when the load isincreased by passengers entering the car.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, C represents the car of anelevator, in the well of which are shown three sliding hatchwaydoors D DD, supported in the usual manner. This car is sustained by cablespassing around pulleys and counterbalanced, as shown, the usualdriving-drum being provided in the basement and driven by an electricmotor MO, connected in any well-known manner to the mains a and b, SWVbeing the main switch.

BR, Fig. 4, is the braking mechanism of the well-known strap type andcontrolled in the usual way by the core of a brake-solenoid S, havingits coils connected directly in the main 5, the arrangement being suchthat so long as current is flowing to and through the motor M0 the brakeis off, and vice versa when the motor is out of circuit.

N N N are locking-notches at the tops of the doors, and K K K arebell-crank locking-clogs pivoted inside the well above and to one sideof the notches, the longer or looking arm being the heavier, so as tofall by its own weight into locking position, as shown at the first andthird landings. The short arms of these dogs extend laterally, as shownin Fig.

'2, and are curved, as shown in Fig. 1, so that they all lie normally inthe same vertical line and will as the car ascends and descends belocated in the magnetic field of the laterally-extending pole Z of thecore of an operatingmagnet M, carried on top of the car, the arrangementbeing such that as the car ascends and descends the pole Z, which is ofhard iron or soft steel adapted to retain some residual magnetism, willpass sufliciently near said arms to draw them into their upper orreleased positions, when the core of the magnet M is energized by astrong current passing through the coil, as will be more particularlydescribed later on.

, $20 is the operators controlling-switch carried in the car and adaptedto contact electrically with either of two contacts p p, which areconnected by cable to the main Z) on one side, the pivot-point of theswitch being connected by cable a and branch conductor Z) to one of thespring-contacts (Z d in'the casing of the brake-solenoid S, the other ofsaid contacts being connected directly to the main Z).

1* v" are friction-rollers carried by bell-crank levers pivot allysupported upon a frame which sustains the magnet M and provided at theirfree ends with springs s s, the function of these rollers being torelease the locking-dogs when the car starts in either direction and toforce the dogs into their locking positions.

L L L are switches located outside the well and accessible only toauthorized persons, as the operator, so that he may apply or release thebrake on leaving the car at any landing, said switches being in a branchcircuit a and adapted to apply the brakes by connecting the branchcircuit a through any contact 10 p to the cable, solenoid S, and main 6.

Referring now to Fig. 3, in which is illustrated the details of theapparatus for simultaneously efiecting the application of the brake withthe stoppage of a car, D represents a dash-pot secured by bolts orscrews directly to the top of the casing of the brake-solenoid S, theplunger of said dash-pot resting under a spiral spring and the lower endof said plunger carrying an insulated contact or an arm 0, adapted tomake contact momentarily between the spring-contacts (Z (Z as the coreof the solenoid S descends when the brake is applied by interrupting'thecurrent flow at the switch sw. The dash-pot D and its retarded plungerhave for their function to permit the gradual descent of the contact-arm0, so that it shall make a contact of suflicient length between theconducting-springs (Z d to insure a proper closure of the circuit to theoperating-magnet M on top of the car C.

The operation is as follows: The car C is at the middle landing and theoperators switch 820 is in the open position. On tracing the circuitsfrom the main switch SW it will be apparent that thebrake-solenoid isdemagnetized and that its core has descended under the influence of itsstrong spring at the lower end of the core. the retarded-plunger of thedash-pot D followed slowly and during the descent momentarily closed thecircuit between the springcontacts (Z 61 through branch circuit Z),magnet M, and cable to main (0, thus causing the pole-piece Z of thatmagnet to act strongly upon the short arm of the dog K and lift it intoits released or unlocked position, as shown. As soon as the short armcomes into magnetic contact with the pole-piece Z the residual orpermanent magnetism is sufficient to maintain it in the unlockedposition, so that, although circuit be again broken at contacts (Z (Z,as the plunger descends the dog will remain in the position shown oruntil the car is moved by releasing the brakes through the applicationof the controller-switch sw.

It is obvious that because of the constantly applied brake so long asthe controller-switch is open the car cannot-move by any change of load,a feature of especial merit and utility. When the door is closed and thecar starts on in either direction, the locking-dog will be restored tonormal or locking position by the corresponding roller 9 passing overthe curved face of the short arm.

We do not limit our invention to the espe- As it descended, therefore,

cial details of construction shown in the accompanying drawings. Webelieve it is broadly new with us to so combine automatic releasingdevices for hatchway doors with braking mechanism that the doors cannotbe unlocked without applying the brake during the act of unlocking, andalso that it is new with us to control the locking devices solely byelectromagnetic releasing devices so arranged that cams are done awaywith and the damaging effects due to the mechanical action thereof onthe locking devices wholly eliminated, and our claims are generic as tothese features; nor do we limit the use of our invention withelectrically-propelled elevator-cars.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. A hatchway-door provided with means for locking it; in combinationwith a brake and means carried by the car for releasing the lock andadditional means operatively connected to the releasing devices and thebrake, whereby the latter is always applied when the releasing means isactuated.

2. A hatchway-door having means for locking it; in combination withbraking means and a car carrying electromagnetic releasing meanselectrically connected with braking means and so arranged that the doorcan only be opened after the brake is applied.

3. An elevator having a series of hatchwaydoors provided each with alocking device; in combination with a car carrying an electromagneticreleasing device adapted to actuate the locking device at each door onlyafter the car has stopped at the corresponding landing; together withcircuits and circuit connections between the electromagnetic-releasingdevice, an electromagnetic brake, the controller on the car, and asource of electrical energy, whereby any door can be opened only afterthe car is brought to a stop at the proper landing and the circuit tothe source of electrical energy disrupted.

4:. An elevator having a series of hatchwaydoors provided each with alocking-dog and an armature carried thereby; a car carrying anclectromagnet having a core adapted to retain sufficient residualmagnetism to hold any dog in its open or unlocked position; incombination with a source of electrical energy and circuits and circuitconnections whereby the locking-dogs remain undisturbed as the carpasses them unless the electromagnet be energized.

5. A hatchway-door provided with locking means, a car provided with anelectromagnet adapted to release the lock when the electromagnet isenergized; the core of said magnet having sufiicient residual magnetismto maintain the released condition; in combination with additional meanscarried also by the car and adapted to mechanically restore the lookingmeans to locking position as the car moves in either direction.

6. In an elevator a series of hatchway-doors provided each with alocking device; a car carrying an electromagnet provided with apolepiece adapted to be moved in close proximity to the locking device;an electrically-controlled brake connected in closed circuit when thecar is moving; in combination with a circuitclosing device operativelyconnected with the brake and adapted to momentarily close the circuit tothe electromagnet carried by the car after the brake is applied.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

AXEL MAGNUSON. THEODOR ESKILSSON.

Witnesses:

C. J. KINTNER, JAMEs FITZPATRICK.

